Diamond DA 42 NG N306ER

Summary

On 31 March 2023 at about 20:49 local time, a Diamond DA 42 NG registered N306ER, operated by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Inc, was involved in an accident near Leesburg, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 March 2023 at 20:49

Classification

Accident

Location

Leesburg, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Leesburg International Airport (LEE)

Coordinates

28.8223, -81.8076

Aircraft

Diamond DA 42 NG

Registration

N306ER

Category

Airplane

Year built

2016

Engines

2

Operator

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA177

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor’s delayed remedial action, which resulted in a hard landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

While on approach for a short field landing, the flight instructor reported that the pilot undergoing instruction added power to arrest an excessive rate of descent at his instruction but removed it when the flight descended below 100 ft. The airplane began to descend rapidly and during the flare touched down first on the nose landing gear. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and added power to abort the landing, but he reported the nose dropped and the airplane began to, “…porpoise down the runway while the stall warning was sounding.” He attempted to keep the nose level but the airplane bounced about 5 or 6 times before coming to rest at the edge of the runway near the midpoint. The pilot reported that the approach was, “…a bit steep and fast due to gusty conditions.” He also reported the canopy became unlatched during the porpoising, and he held it down to prevent getting hit by debris kicked up by the propeller. A review of pictures of the airplane revealed it came to rest with the right main landing gear partially collapsed. The top center portion of the fuselage was substantially damaged during the accident. The pilots reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.